Greece cluster is a fetid swamp

Many inhabitants of the area simply shrug when questioned how are they living comfortably when surrounded by such unhygienic conditions. (Bindu Suresh Rai)

The first thing that hits you is the overpowering stench.

Accumulated pools of water and the surrounding muddy embankments in the parking lot, along with similar conditions at the nearby roundabout is a regular sight for residents and proprietors of the Greece cluster in International City – Nakheel’s sprawling residential and commercial district that provides affordable accommodation for Dubai’s many denizens.

Many inhabitants of the area simply shrug when questioned as to how are they living when surrounded by such unhygienic conditions, which is fast becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes and rats.

“We are enduring such conditions for months now; it’s just a nuisance that has blended into the background like white noise,” said a tenant of K-10, a residential block in the Greece cluster. “We simply keep the doors and windows closed at all times so only a faint whiff of the bad odour seeps into the house.”

A Nakheel spokesperson tells Emirates24|7: “The minor floods that are happening at K-12 and M-01 parking areas is due to lake water seepage and it has been resolved by means of deploying dewatering pumps. The areas are now dried and being utilised.”

However, a trip down to the said K-12 lot (see pictures) tells a different story. Pools of water are still causing problems for commercial enterprises, along with residents who have to wade through the water to reach their work premises and home.

Water worries

Some neighbouring residents suggest it’s a possible sewage overflow from the drains, while others theorise its illegal water waste being dumped in the nearby lake that is overflowing into the residential complex areas.

Saleem, a driver with nearby Al Fareej Cafeteria said: “This problem is all over International City. No one really understands where all this water is originating from, but some days it’s difficult to find parking in a dry spot so we are forced to walk through the dirty water.”

The accompanying pictures clearly show that dewatering pumps have been deployed in the area, but the problem is hardly drying up fast enough for the area inhabitants.

Jagged holes in the parking lot tarmac sees water flow into the ground, but one resident says that when the hole fills up, the same water pours back out.

“We have given up hoping for a solution to this problem,” said another resident in K-9. “I guess you can’t have it all, cheap rent and clean conditions.”